That's a wrap...

Day 10

Today was our last day of work, which makes me very sad.  I know you all want us home, but it is very hard leaving friends we have made, both American and Honduran.  Today started with breakfast between 7 and 8, with bagels, eggs, and fruit.  After breakfast we had devo led by Tyler Steffy.  Tyler encouraged us not to forget the little things and to finish strong. 

After Devo, we got our backpacks together and formed an assembly line to load the bus with 400 bags of food.  When it was loaded, we made our way to Mololoa to distribute the food.  The team definitely got their workout for the day!!!  The community is literally, a mountain!!  We had two vehicles we loaded down with the food the drove to the top.  The team met the vehicle there and started working downward.  There are so many things I love about working in Honduras, but distributing food is the most humbling.  The top of Mololoa rarely receives assistance because of the climb, but we had some awesome troopers that saw to it those families received assistance.  We also had some locals assisting us in getting the food bags to some of the more steep sections.  It’s amazing to work with our bothers and sisters in Honduras, because they show the love of Christ for their fellow country men in ways we do not see it in the States.  It took the team about 2 – 3 hours to hand out all of the food, but it was worth the time because now there are 400 families in Mololoa that will be feed for at least two weeks.  I pray that more assistance will come their way, and I hope you will also pray the same prayer.  God has worked is some pretty amazing ways, and I am confident He will continue to be with the Honduran people.

After delivering food, we loaded the buses and went to the mall for lunch.  Everyone chose what they wanted and had an hour to finish.  Once everyone was back on the buses we ended the day in The Valley of Angels for some shopping.  The ride out to The Valley is such a beautiful view.  It is always fun to go to the Valley of Angels, if you love to get some good deals on some pretty awesome stuff.  It’s also fun to go because we get to eat Pupusas!!!!  I know you are all like “what is a pupusa?”  A pupusa is a tortilla type thing filled with cheese, no not a quesadilla, it’s way better!!  Anyway, I attempted to make them at home and failed miserably, so I always look forward to eating some Pupusas!! 

When everyone finished shopping we loaded the buses and came back to Villa Gracia for dinner.  Tonight we had chicken, salad, potatoes, and a roll.  We met for our last nightly devo at around 8:00 led by Jeremy Myers.  Jeremy has done an excellent job these past 10 days encouraging us to work as one and explaining to us the power of One!!  When devo was finished we were given instruction about tomorrow, then we departed to share in our last night of fellowship with one another in Honduras.

This will be my last blog for 2013, which makes me very sad. I have enjoyed keeping you all updated each night!!  I have to say thanks to Leah Wright for doing the blog a few nights for me while I finished homework, she has been a blessing this week!! I also want to thank you all for your continuous prayers and thoughts, it means the world to the team to know we have so many back home praying for the efforts.  I have been blessed in so many ways this trip and I will miss this opportunity to share with you all.  We will be making our way home in the morning, so we will see you soon!!

Love you all, and until next year, peace and blessings!

Brandy B

Day 9

I’m a little late posting yesterday’s blog, so please forgive me!!  Yesterday started out with breakfast between 7 – 8, I think we had eggs and beans and ham.  After breakfast we had devo led by Dan Hein.  Dan talked to us about being out of our comfort zones and trying new things.  He gave us examples from the week where several of the team members were out of their comfort zones. Some of the examples include: Tricky Pat painting finger nails at the hospital, some of the young men leading in worship, everyone at the blind school, etc.  Dan encouraged us to be ready to step out of our comfort zones and strive to be all we can for God.

After devo we split into two large groups and one group of four.  The group of four included Terry Reeves, Margaret Reeves, Brian Steffy, and Val Steffy.  The team loaded two trucks with food (beans, rice, flour, spaghetti, sugar, salt, coffee, etc.) and took it out to Didasko and finished the painting of the playground.  They were able to watch the kids enjoy the playground and utilize the new slide that was put in.  The stories are so heart warming and I wish I could have been there to see the children.  I love Didasko so very much!!

A group of about 15 went to the open market to purchase veggies to pack up and deliver to a village called Veintiuno de Octubre.  The open market was a blast!!  Jenny Lovell knows what she is doing when in comes to getting the best prices for veggies.  We were able to purchase enough for 100 bags. It was very interesting to see the exotic fruits as well.  We were able to purchase a few to try when we returned back to mission house.  Some of the fruit was really good, while others we not, but it was a lot of fun trying the new fruits.!!  After we packed the food and delivered it to the village we did a Gatorade Blitz!!  I have no idea how to explain what a Gatorade Blitz is that will give it justice, but I will try.  We go around the city passing out Gatorade to street workers, construction workers, police officers, and beggars.  We completed the blitz really fast because there are several construction sites in Teguc.  During the blitz we also handed out hygiene packets.  It is very humbling to see the gratitude in those receiving Gatorade, they are so grateful, and confused at the same time.  I love this time of the trip because we are attempting to reach out to more than just the villages!!

I am Robin Tenpenny from Nashville.  Yesterday at Mololoa we did Daughters of the King where we treated the girls special.  We washed their hair, combed it, braided it, washed their feet and painted their toes and fingernails.  Then they were given a dress and “jewelry”.  It was so nice to see the smiles on their face as they went through each step!  Hopefully we showed them how special they are to God while we took care of them.

We returned to the mission house at about 5:30 to clean up and get ready for dinner.  Last we had THE BEST MEAL EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had pico, home made chips, rice, beans, and beef tips.  It absolutely my most favorite meal EVER!!  After dinner we had split devo.  This is the first time I have been a part of a split devo in Honduras, and I loved it.  Sharing in worship with my sisters was very encouraging and hope it is a tradition we can start.  After devo we fellowshipped with one another for a while and went to bed to rest up for our last workday in Honduras.  It is hard to believe that we have been here for 10 days and that we begin our journey home in about 24 hours.  I’m ready to be home to see friends and family, but I am not ready to leave my Honduran family and those I have met on this trip.  I have made lasting friendships and renewed those I have made in the past.  The memories that have been made here will be life long reminders of the Power of God and the Power of One.  Thank you all for praying for the team and the work, but please do not stop praying for the Honduran family.  This is an ongoing mission that does not stop because we leave.  We will see all of you soon!! 

Love ya Bunches

Brandy B

Enjoy the pictures!!!

A whirlwind of Adventure

Day 8

Good Evening from Honduras!!  Our time is quickly coming to an end here in Honduras, and I am not too happy about that.  Today started like all other days with breakfast between 7 and 8.  Today we had pancakes and fruit.  After breakfast we met for devo, where we were led in our thoughts by José Chavarría. José encouraged us to show compassion to those we are serving.  Sometime it is easy to go through the motion of serving without having your heart in it fully.  José’s lesson couldn’t have come at a better time.  The longer we are here, the less energy we have and we begin going through the motions of our tasks.  The lesson gave us the encouragement needed to finish the tasks.

After devo we split into four groups.  One group went back to Didasko to complete the playground, one went to La Tigra to build a home, one went to Molola to work on the daycare and in the feeding center, and the last group went to the Special Needs Orphanage then came back to Villa Gracia to pack food.

The Construction team was dropped of at about 9:30 and began the process of building the home.  We had a great team that was eager to work.  The view was AMAZING, of course.  God knows exactly how to make something look beautiful, and you cannot come to Honduras and think differently.  The build took about five hours to complete today, which might sound like a long time but it really was not that bad.  The view was amazing and the crew worked really hard. 

A group of about 8 went back to Didasko to complete the painting and construction of the playground.  About 5 or 6 years ago a team constructed the playground that was named Terry’s World.  Over the years, the kids have utilized it so much there were needs for repairs.  The group worked extremely hard to complete the work over the past few days, but due to weather some of it has been delayed.  There will be another group returning tomorrow to finish up.

There was also a group that went to Molola to do some work in the feeding center and the day care.  Several weeks ago there was a flood in Molola that did some damage to the day care.  The team had to bust up the floor and shovel more dirt under the foundation.  While they were doing that, about five others worked in the feeding center serving a meal to the children in Molola. 

I’m Kacie Barber, a sophomore at Freed-Hardeman University, and this is what I did today. I took a break from physical labor, but it was no walk in the park. The special needs orphanage team had the most emotionally overwhelming job today. I went to the orphanage last year, and those kids completely stole my heart. However, it was very upsetting because the kids weren’t getting physical therapy, which made them completely dependent on someone else. This year was a totally different story. The orphanage was able to hire a full-time physical therapist about three months ago, and that has been such a blessing. The kids looked amazing! Not only physically, but they all had a smile on their faces. I was so close to bringing Alyssia, a five year old ray of sunshine, home in my suitcase! Our whole team turned out to be rock stars with those kids. Today altogether was such a blessing!

After the teams completed the work of the day, we returned back to the mission house for dinner and devo.  Tonight we had spaghetti, salad, and bread.  The one’s making the meals have not disappointed any of us yet, and I’m not thinking they will.  After dinner we made our way to the chapel for devo.  Jeremy Myers has done an awesome job preparing devotionals throughout our time here and tonight was no different.  He talked about the dump here in Honduras and used it to illustrate our lives.  So many times we surround ourselves with the trash of the World instead of allowing ourselves to be surrounded by God.  We come to Honduras and say, “I am forever changed.”  But do we really change, or is just a spiritual uplift.  I am not saying a spiritual uplift is not important, but when we convert to our old ways and forget our experiences it is not as beneficial.  It really made me think about my personal life, and I hope others are thinking about it as well. 

We only have two days left until we return home.  Thank you all for your continued prayers!!

Love you all, catch you on the flippity flop!!

Brandy B

Just an FYI, tomorrow night we will not be broadcasting the devo because it will be a split devo.